Sunday, March 31, 2013

Awesome Twin Girls



When my old classmate, Wah Yeong, sent me an email entitled AWESOME TWIN GIRLS, I expected a biological exploration of the beauty of the human anatomy.

Confronted with this photo of two premature babies, I thought it is just another tear-jerking hoax.

Twin girls, Brielle and Kyrie, were born 12 weeks ahead of their due date. Needing intensive care, they were placed in separate incubators.

Kyrie began to gain weight and her health stabilized. But Brielle, born only 2 lbs, had trouble breathing, heart problems and other complications. She was not expected to live.

Their nurse did everything she could to make Brielle's health better, but nothing she did was helping her. With nothing else to do, their nurse went against hospital policy and decided to place both babies in the same incubator.

She left the twin girls to sleep and when she returned she found a sight she could not believe. She called all the nurses and doctors and this is what they saw.

As Brielle got closer to her sister, Kyrie put her small little arm around her, as if to hug and support her sister. From that moment on, Brielle's breathing and heart rate stabilized and her health became normal.

'Tears for Joy', it’s a true story!

Here’s a video of the twins in 2012, uploaded to youtube by freebird1024

Click HERE if there is no video

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Watch These Crazy People Jumping Into the Darkest Pit of Hell*




The PM has yet to call for elections but already we are being given the blues!

So, Richard Chan tries a little humour “to keep my sanity and to ease my huge disappointment for anyone voting for this coalition during the coming election” by sharing this video with you:  

(Click HERE if you don't see the video)



* title borrowed from a youtube presentation of a very much less morbid endeavour.

The Road to Timbuktu


This bloke is playing the Digeridoo

The 2012 Australian Poetry Competition* held in the Sydney Opera House had come down to two finalists;

A) The university graduate.
B) An old aboriginal.

They were given a word, and then allowed two minutes to study the word and come up with a short four line poem that contained the word.

The word they were given was ' TIMBUKTU '.

First to recite his poem was the university graduate. He stepped to the microphone and said:

Slowly across the desert sand,
Trekked a lonely caravan
Men on camels two by two
Destination - Timbuktu .

The crowd went crazy! No way could the old aboriginal top that, they thought.

The old aboriginal calmly made his way to the microphone and recited;

Me and Tim a huntin' went
Met three whores in a pop up tent
They were three, and we was two
So I bucked one, and Tim..buktu .

The aboriginal won.

* Could not find this in the internet. If you think you are better than the old Abo, the W B Yeats Poetry Prize for Australian Poets is now accepting entries for the 2013 Prize.

 If you really want to know about Tim..buktu, click HERE, but be prepared to be surprised!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Foods Can Help Fight Inflammation



Inflammation is the body's normal response to injury. While it may be a natural defense system, it can lead to disease development if it becomes chronic. A University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) expert says one way to fight inflammation is with food.

"The inflammation process has one goal: to respond immediately to detect and destroy the toxic material in damaged tissues before it can spread throughout the body," explained Lauren Whitt, Ph.D., UAB Employee Wellness director and adjunct professor of personal health. "The trouble with inflammation occurs when the defense system gets out-of-control and begins to destroy healthy tissue, causing more damage than the original issue."

Obesity has even been found to cause inflammation, and it can lead to the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disease, according to the National Council on Strength & Fitness. But weight loss is related to reduction of inflammation, and Whitt says the right anti-inflammatory foods are the answer.

"I encourage people to focus on eating whole foods and foods that are high in fiber," Whitt said.

Anti-inflammatory foods to try:

Citrus fruits -- Vitamin C and Vitamin E are essential antioxidants

Dark, leafy greens -- High in Vitamin K

Tomatoes -- The fruit's red pigment, lycopene, is a potent antioxidant

Wild-caught salmon -- Contains a rich concentration of omega-3 fatty acids*

Whitt added that eating anti-inflammatory foods should not be viewed as daunting.

"Eating to minimize inflammation doesn't have to be an overwhelming task," she said. "Take baby steps by incorporating leafy greens into a salad at lunch, or add a piece of whole fruit to your breakfast."

In addition, Whitt said to consume more foods straight from the farm, as well as fewer processed and fried foods. Doing so may reduce the need for some medications.

"Americans are constantly on the lookout for a quick-fix, so when our immune systems kick into overdrive, we would generally prefer to pop a pill and keep moving," Whitt said. "But if we focus on our diets, we can alleviate the need for the anti-inflammatory medications in many cases."


###

The above story is based on the March 22, 2013 news release by University of Alabama at Birmingham.

* Although the amount of fish lipids in Malaysian fishes is generally low when compared to fishes from temperate countries, terubok and patin contain high amount of lipid in their tissue muscle.

Nur Airina Muhamad, Jamaludin Mohamad. Fatty Acids Composition of Selected Malaysian Fishes. Sains Malaysiana 41(1)(2012): 81–94. 

Click HERE to read the full paper.

Dwelling on stressful events can also cause inflammation leading to various disorders and conditions such as heart disease, as well as cancer, dementia and autoimmune diseases.

Click HERE for an easy way to de-stress and progress further to realise your full potential

Malaysia’s GNI, 49% or 22%?




Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak claimed that Malaysia’s gross national income (GNI) per capita has increased by 49% from 2009 and 2012.

A columnist in Malaysiakini has countered that based on data obtained from Bank Negara, the growth for that period is a low 22%

Who is lying telling the truth?


Further references:



 

Radio Free Malaysia




Radio Free Malaysia (RFM) will be on AM/MW 1,359kHz from 9pm to 11pm.

The Radio Show will also be accessible on-line via podcast at its website www.radiofreemalaysia.org 

Radio Free Malaysia will also be operating a call in line so that listeners can take part in the show the toll free number is 1-800-815-309 and callers will be able to leave messages and their number at any time of the day.


AM/MW 1359 kHz, 2100-2300 nightly
Also: www.radiofreemalaysia.org
Toll free number: 1-800-815-309
Email: info@radiofreemalaysia.org

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Dwelling On Stressful Events Can Increase Inflammation in the Body

Credit: www.insurancequotes.org


Chronic inflammation is associated with various disorders and conditions such as heart disease, as well as cancer, dementia and autoimmune diseases.

Dwelling on negative events can increase levels of inflammation in the body.

Researchers at Ohio University discovered that when study participants were asked to ruminate on a stressful incident, their levels of C-reactive protein*, a marker of tissue inflammation, rose.

The research team led by Peggy Zoccola, an assistant professor of psychology, recruited 34 healthy young women to participate in the project. Each woman was asked to give a speech about her candidacy for a job to two interviewers in white laboratory coats, who listened with stone-faced expressions.

Half of the group was asked to contemplate their performance in the public speaking task, while the other half was asked to think about neutral images and activities, such as sailing ships or grocery store trips.

The researchers drew blood samples that showed that the levels of C-reactive protein were significantly higher in the subjects who were asked to dwell on the speech, Zoccola reported.

For these participants, the levels of the inflammatory marker continued to rise for at least one hour after the speech. During the same time period, the marker returned to starting levels in the subjects who had been asked to focus on other thoughts.


###

The above story is based on the March 13, 2013 news release by Ohio University.

The research findings will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society in Miami, Fla.

C-reactive protein is primarily produced by the liver as part of the immune system's initial inflammatory response. It rises in response to traumas, injuries or infections in the body.
C-reative protein is widely used as a clinical marker to determine if a patient has an infection, but also if he or she may be at risk for disease later in life.


###


Mindfulness Reduces Stress, Promotes Resilience


Click HERE for 112 minutes youtube presentation on the healing powers of mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn 

Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you're mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.

Jon Kabat-Zinn (1944) is Professor of Medicine Emeritus and founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Centerfor Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His practice of yoga and studies with Buddhist teachers led him to integrate their teachings with those of Western science. He teaches mindfulness meditation as a technique to help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain and illness.